Gamescom 2018: Rotterdam is Beautiful in Battlefield V

After the success of Battlefield 1, which took the series back to the early 20th century, EA has followed that game’s lead by bringing the series full circle back to World War II in Battlefield V. While it’s been 16 years since Battlefield 1942, the series has seen a lot of evolution since then, not just in gameplay but in the realism and quality of its visuals, and at Gamescom, EA were keen to show off one of its most stunning maps – Rotterdam.

Rotterdam was the site of the ‘Battle of Rotterdam’ in 1940, which ended with the Germans seizing the Dutch city in the ensuing bombing blitz. And in Battlefield V, while debris and evidence of battles line the cobblestone streets, it’s impossible to deny it’s a beautiful city, rendered with incredible attention to detail in-game. The city itself is, of course, prime material to show off BFV, particularly with its new RTX-2080 powered raytracing technology, as announced at Geforce’s event at Gamescom. Road and bridges criss-cross idyllic canals, with cathedrals, cafes and gorgeous examples of architecture basically anywhere you turn. Flocks of pigeons scatter as you run down a street nobody has been down in a while. Rain can pick up gradually, affecting visibility, but potentially affording you an advantage. It’s all very pretty.

In fact, Rotterdam offers a few levels of verticality as a map, which is interesting. Street-level combat is wide open for vehicles and squads to battle it out, while the canals themselves offer interesting opportunities to slip away from enemy fire, or even use the various boats as cover to sneak your way to an objective. An overhead train-line isn’t just a good vantage point too, it’s a narrow railroad with carriages broken down in the middle, that can force two opposing teams heading along it into some pretty tense confrontations – bullets narrowly zipping past their heads as they duck and weave from between carriages.

Destruction is impressive as well, with tanks in the streets able to roll through pretty much anything in their way, and cover by no means guaranteed no matter where you are. It’s even fun just getting behind a cannon at your faction’s spawn point and blowing down a few street lamps.

The game mode on display at Gamescom was ‘Conquest’, which is your pretty standard capture control-points experience with up to 64 players. However, Battlefield V is looking to expand its repertoire with several new modes, including one that, yes, will be a version of the currently insanely-popular ‘battle royale’ genre. On top of that, ‘Grand Operations’ will place players in several rounds across several stages, each with their own objectives.

Battlefield V has recently garnered some negative press, with news that pre-orders are below expectations for this instalment. However, for players with a decent gaming rig, and especially with maps like Rotterdam, there’ll be plenty for Battlefield fans who do pick up BFV to celebrate when the game is released on October 19.

Check out the official trailer for the Rotterdam map below from Gamescom!